Recipe - Dacquoise (Meringue Cake With Strawberries)

2 tablespoon Butter or margarine
One fourth cup All purpose flour
1 cup (4 ounces) almonds (I use
unblanched)
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
1 cup Superfine or verifine sugar,
divided (Three fourths cup and 1/4
cup)
6 lg Egg whites, room temperature
One fourth teaspoon Cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon Salt
1/8 teaspoon Almond extract
2 One half teaspoon Pure vanilla extract,
divided (1 teaspoon and 1/2
tablespoon)
One half cup Red currant jelly
One fourth cup Granulated sugar (depending
upon sweetness of berries)
(up to 1/2)
2 tablespoon Water
1 qt (20 ounces) strawberries,
hulled and halved
1 One half cup (Three fourths pint) heavy cream, cold
3 tablespoon Powdered sugar (preferably
10X)

This is delicious and impressive, yet very easy and failsafe to prepare.
Although mocha buttercream is more traditional (and can obviously be
substituted), this is the filling most popular with my family and friends.
I hope that you will enjoy it as much as everyone else does.

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Spread 1 tablespoon butter over each of 2
cookie sheets. Sprinkle each with 2 tablespoonsful flour. Using knife with
an 8inch round cake pan as a guide, trace two circles onto each cookie
sheet. Set aside.

2. Spread almonds in ungreased 13x9x2inch baking pan. Place on center
shelf of oven and bake until golden (about 15 minutes). Remove from oven
and let cool slightly. Stir in cornstarch and One fourth cup of the superfine
sugar. Set aside. Lower oven temperature to 250 degrees F.

3. Pour egg whites into small mixing bowl. Using electric mixer or wire
whisk, beat until frothy. Add cream of tartar and salt. Continue beating
until soft peaks form when beaters are lifted.

4. Add remaining Three fourths cup superfine sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue
beating until mixture is stiff but not dry (about 5 minutes with mixer).
Stir in almond extract and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. Gently fold in almond
mixture,
One fourth cup at a time.

5. Using a rubber spatula, spread meringue 1/8inch thick onto the 4
circles you traced on the cookie sheets. Place cookie sheets on center
shelf of oven and bake until firm, dry, and pale golden (about 1 hour).
IMMEDIATELY loosen each meringue with a spatula and transfer it to a wire
rack. Set aside.

6. Pour jelly, granulated sugar, and water into a small saucepan. Cook over
low heat until melted. Cool slightly. Gently stir in berries. Set aside.

7. In small mixing bowl, beat together cream, powdered sugar, and remaining
1 One half teaspoons vanilla until consistency of whipped cream.

8. Place one meringue on a cake plate. Spread with One fourth of the whipped
cream. Spread One fourth of the berries over the cream. Repeat with remaining
layers, ending with top meringue, spread with whipped cream, topped with
circle of berries.

(Serves 8 10)

N. B. Superfine or verifine sugar is sold in most American supermarkets (at
least here in the northeast). It comes in boxes very similar to those for
powdered sugar. If you cannot find it (or prefer not to purchase it), you
could either blend granulated sugar for a second or two in the blender
(until it looks like very fine granulated sugar), or substitute granulated
sugar. I, myself, prefer to use the superfine sugar, since it is easier to
incorporate into the meringue. However, this is by now means essential.

Posted to EATL Digest 01 Apr 97 by Teasel teasel@JUNO.COM on Apr 2, 1997